On the Record™ deeply engages students as they improve skills in reading, writing, comprehension and critical thinking, while putting their own voices on the record.

Pairing profiles of contemporary figures, On the Record shares stories of struggle, perseverance, transcendence and transformation. Whether famous or quietly brilliant, each person is on a quest—to survive disasters, to stake out a place in the world, to find a voice and tell a story. Stories students use to shape their own quests for meaningful lives and achieve their academic and life goals.

The program was developed by Scholastic with Erin Gruwell, founder of the Freedom Writers Foundation, and visionary educator Dr. Alfred Tatum. On the Record uses Ms. Gruwell's classroom-tested ELA strategies and Dr. Tatum's four social justice and learning platforms (below), which provide a framework for students to chart their own development.